


And If I'm Gone Tomorrow?

by skiesof_hope



Category: Newsies (1992), Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Anxiety Attacks, Davey is a good dad friend, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, Jack and Katherine broke up, M/M, Modern AU, Multi, Quick burn?, Teacher AU, These tags may change, ahhhh I really don't know where this is gonna go so stay with me, all of them - Freeform, brake up, but they’ll be friends, javid - Freeform, lots of dumb references, modern era newsies, they are so dumb, they get together pretty fast, we'll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2020-06-09 15:55:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,723
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19479166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skiesof_hope/pseuds/skiesof_hope
Summary: Jack Kelly was the new art teacher at a school that has the worst art program in the area. He was underfunded, understocked, way underpaid, and unable to give his passionate art students the education they deserved, but he loved his job. Jack Kelly loved his job for the sole reason that he had quickly fallen in love with the history teacher that he co-taught AP Art History with. However, when an opportunity arises far away boys can't be the only reason you stay, can they?





	1. I Want What We Had, Just Wanna Feel It With Someone Else (The Front Bottoms)

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys so this is my first fic on this site so please go easy on me! I worked really hard on this first chapter so if you guys like it let me know and I'll post more (even if no one reads it I'll probably post more anyways cause this was so fun to write!) I hope you enjoy and thank you so much for reading!

The art department at Hirst High School was the saddest, most disorganized, and most underfunded arts department that Jack Kelly had ever seen. He walked into his new classroom and let out a long, slow whistle as he set down his bag at his desk. There were three tables in the middle of the room which each had a box of colored pencils and a cup of sketching pencils each. Jack walked over to the nearest table and fiddled with a cup on the pencils, most of which were broken or little pencil nubs that were unusable. There was a supplies cabinet in the corner of the room with large gallons of paint, most of which were empty, and old, worn out paint brushes. Most of the chalks had been snapped in half and there were no charcoals to be seen. There was an abundance of construction paper and card stock which Jack could work with.  
“Its not much,” Jack said to himself, stepping back to the whiteboard at the front of the room so he could take it all in. It was only 7:30, so classes didn't even start for another hour, but Jack wanted to get to the school early. He just finished student teaching last school year and this was his first real teaching job. He knew he was lucky to be teaching art, even if the only reason he got the position was because the old art was teacher forced into retirement after falling down two flights of stairs, however, he couldn't help but feel sorry at the state of his new classroom.  
Just then a knock at the door broke Jack’s train of thought. A man nudged the door open and offered an awkward wave. Jack ran over to the door and gestured for him to come in. The man stepped in timidly and looked around the room before holding his hand out for Jack to shake. Jack took it timidly and shook it, giving the stranger a confused expression. “Uh, hi!” the stranger finally spoke, letting go of Jack’s hand. “Um, I’m David Jacobs, the AP US, and World History, teacher. I just thought I’d come to introduce myself. You’re the new art teacher right?”  
Jack nodded, peering up at David. The first thing he noticed was this man was way too awkward to have a stuffy name like David. It didn’t suit him and he would have to fix that by giving him a nickname. The second thing he noticed was that his shy smile was the most sincere expression he had seen all day. He hadn't met most of the teachers in the school yet, but at first glance, they all seemed unbelievably tired. David, for some reason, didn't give him that impression.  
“Jack Kelly, nice ta meet ya,” Jack answered, looking up into his eyes for the first time. He would never admit it but Jack was immediately taken aback. Of all the things Jack could love about a person he always fell in love with the eyes first, and something about David’s soft dark brown eyes sent a shiver up Jack’s spine. He quickly cleared his throat and moved away from the other man, trying to hide the blush that was spreading on his cheeks.  
“Well…” David started, trying to break the growing tension. “See ya around Mr. Kelly. Good luck on your first day, incoming freshman can be a nightmare.” He chuckled and smiled warmly at Jack before walking out of the art room.  
Jack Kelly walked back to his desk in a panicked daze and immediately got out a pen and a scrap piece of paper. He had to draw this man and his eyes. Not because he was catching feelings. No. Jack Kelly didn't catch feelings, especially not for co-workers on his first day of teaching. Jack let out a frustrated groan and crumpled up the paper, attempting to fling it into the trash can by the door across the room. A small yell made him look up immediately. He had just thrown the piece of paper at his first student.  
The kid was a short, curly-haired senior sporting a messenger bag and a terrified expression. “I am so sorry!” Jack exclaimed, running over to him. “I didn't see yous comin' and I was amin’ for the trashcan…”  
“It’s alright, ahh, Mr. Kelly,” the kid said hesitantly, still a bit shaken up. He fiddled with the strap of his messenger bag. “I’m Les, I’m in your AP art class and your AP art history class.”  
Jack smiled. /His/ classes. “Nice to meet ya, Les. What brings ya here…” Jack paused to check the clock that sat ticking on the wall above the door, “twenty minutes before the first period?”  
“Oh, right. My big brother is Davey- I mean, Mr. Jacobs. He told me to run down and tell you that you’ll be teaching art history together. The principal just notified him, somethin’ to do with qualification. He wanted to tell you in person but the copier got jammed and he’s gotta get the syllabi for his first class. Says he’s excited to see you for seventh period though,” Les rambled nervously, eager to get back to his homeroom. When Jack didn’t respond Les took it as his cue to leave him alone. “Well, see ya later Mr. Kelly!” he called to Jack as he ran out the door and down the hall.  
“W-Wait!” Jack ran to the doorway and called after the kid but it was useless, he had run out of sight. Jack looked out into the long, empty arts hallway and pursed his lips, trying to process what Les had just told him. Davey, (a name much better suited for him,) would be co-teaching his AP art history class with him? He found himself blushing again and quickly shook his head. No. Jack would not catch feelings for his co-worker he just met.  
***  
By the time such had rolled around Jack felt pretty content with himself. The first four periods of his teaching career had gone well, although he was determined to buy these kids new art supplies if it killed him. The kids were good, too. For the first day, he had just let them draw as he came around to admire their talent and offer small suggestions. There were a few kids that were just taking it as a blow-off class, but it was way less than he had thought there would be.  
Now he just had to get through fifth period AP art, sixth period planning, and seventh period AP art history with Davey. Seventh period was all he could think about as he sat down at his desk for lunch and opened the can of Dr. Pepper he got from the vending machine. They hadn't even co-planned a lesson, so what were they supposed to teach. Would it be a tag-team teaching situation, or would it be like he was student teaching again? Suddenly, a knock on the door stole his attention again but this time a young, blonde man grasping a crutch barged through the door.  
“Happy first day from the arts department,” the man said beaming.  
“Crutchie,” Jack smiled and ran over to hug him. There were five people at this school that Jack relied on to get this job. Charlie, affectionately called Crutchie, had been like a brother to Jack ever since they were twelve and ended up in the same foster home with Miss Medda Larkin, who also just happened to be the theater teacher. She had gotten Crutchie a job as the temporary assistant choir director when he was just out of college. He fell in love with the job of course and stayed. This year he was taking over the choir department and he and the choir students couldn't have been more thrilled. All of the students adored Crutchie as did all of the staff. He just a way of bringing good energy into the room and Jack loved that about him. Crutchie had then introduced Jack to all of his close friends: Racetrack Higgins and Spot Collon, the two physical education teachers who also happened to be married, and Kathrine Pulitzer, the creative writing teacher.  
Although Jack adored Race and Spot from the moment he met them he was immediately entranced by Katherine. They had a short relationship about sixth months prior and Jack hadn't seen her since. Things did not end well for them and if there had been another teaching position available far away from Katherine Pulitzer, he would have taken it.  
“Hey, Crutch, hows- hows Kath doin’ with me workin’ here and all?” Crutchie furrowed his eyebrows and pursed his lips. Ever since the breakup Katherine had been a taboo subject and managing both relationships was difficult, especially because they would complain about each other constantly to him.  
“She, uh, she hasn't talked about it much, but I haven't seen her yet this year.” Suddenly Crutchie’s face brightened in a sinister way. “I bet I know what will break the ice though! Seeing as you guys are gonna see quite a. bit of each other, working in the same department and all…”  
Jack stepped back and put his hands up defensively. The last thing he wanted to do was see Katherine, especially while he was dealing with his feelings for a certain history teacher. “I dunno what you’re planning Crutchie, but I don't like it.”  
“Jack, just have lunch with us. Me, you, Race, Spot, Medda, and Kath. You're gonna need to be in meetings with her. This’ll be a good way to break the ice. Also, I can give you a tour of the shit hole you'll be working in for at least the next year.” Crutchie flashed Jack his signature “golden boy” smile and fiddled with his crutch. The 24-year-old never failed to guilt Jack into doing whatever he wanted. He had figured it out when they were kids and wasn't planning on revamping his methods any time soon.  
Jack moaned and closed his eyes, trying to resist being guilted into seeing his ex. In the end, he couldn't resist. He knew how hard it had been for Crutchie to listen to his constant complaining and wallowing about one of his closest friends. The breakup had been really hard on them both and the man was just eager to have his friends back. “Fine!” Jack finally gave in. He felt the anxiety settle in the pit of his stomach like a rock.  
***  
The electives teachers usually ate lunch in the theater where Medda taught, Crutchie explained as they walked through the long deserted hallways on their way to the theater. It wasn't technically allowed but Medda let them and administration rarely checked on the electives teachers anyway. Race and Spot usually used their twenty minute lunch period to make out and Katherine usually just used the time to grade the countless short stories she assigned and edit the school’s newspaper. Medda, with her strong motherly instinct, made sure the much younger teachers all ate something before sending them back up to their classes so they wouldn't be late. Crutchie pointed out different rooms and teachers, making sure Jack knew which ones he shouldn't associate with. Jack nodded his head and tried to listen but he was a little overwhelmed by all the new information he was getting. His first day had been eventful, to say the least.  
“And that's Davey Jacobs’s room…” Jack suddenly tuned back into the conversation. Davey Jacobs: mystery history teacher.  
“What do you know about that guy?” Jack cut him off as he not-so-discreetly peered through the window. Davey was passionately lecturing a class that actually looked intrigued. His hands waved around when he got particularly excited about something and even though Jack had been watching him for less than a minute his heart began to flutter. He quickly shook his head and stepped out of view of the window. Crutchie peered at him curiously.  
“Davey? Yeah, we met in college. Real nice guy. Great teacher, the kids love him. Why youse so interested?”  
If Jack had been looking at a woman with the same curiosity Crutchie wouldn’t be so oblivious. This way almost exactly how his relationship with Katherine had started. However, this was different. Davey Jacobs was a man, and no one, not even Crutchie, knew that Jack Kelly was bisexual. Jack wasn't even sure why he had never told anyone. Everyone loved Race and Spot and Medda had always been accepting of her foster children, encouraging them to tell her everything. All of his long relationships had been with women and he felt no need to tell his family about his one night stands with men he met in gay bars. He had a feeling he was going to have to come out of the closet soon, however. Even though he had only met this man once Jack had fallen for him. He hated admitting it but something about him made Jack melt from the start, and he only had two more hours until he would have to teach a class with him.


	2. And I Just Can't Contain this Feeling that Remains (The La's)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically just a roller coaster of emotions (I'll let Jack be happy one day I promise). We finally get to see Katherine, yay! and Davey comes in a little at the end (I promise he will be in the next chapter more but this one was getting wayyyyy too long)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm back! I'm trying to maintain a relatively consistent posting schedule but we'll see how that goes when school starts back. I'm gonna be honest I'm not too happy with this chapter because I think it's a little confusing... I just had a lot of stuff I had to set up for the rest of the fic... I did edit this but I didn't spend too much time on that part so I apologize for the inevitable grammar mistakes and typos. With that, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Jack stood outside the auditorium feeling queasy. He knew Katherine was right on the other side of that door, but so was Medda, his foster mother, and Spot and Race, his best friends. His brother, Crutchie, would be right beside him. Besides, Kath was professional, so she probably wouldn’t even acknowledge him. Whenever Jack had come to visit her at work the most he would get out of her was a smile despite his best efforts to get her to kiss him. He knew he was going to have to hash it out with her eventually. If they were going to be working together they had to be at least cordial with each other. Jack knew he had broken her heart, he only hoped that somehow he could fix it. 

Jack took a deep breath and finally nudged the door open to the auditorium. He felt Crutchie give his shoulder a comforting squeeze as they both walked into the room. For a school with very low arts budget, the theater was huge. There were at least six hundred seats and a state of the art sound and light booth. There was no doubt that Medda had paid for it. The reason she was able to foster so many kids was that her family had owned oil wells for the past 3 generations. With that money and everything she had earned as a full-time performer in her twenties and thirties, she had a large sum of money in her savings account that she was more than willing to donate to underfunded arts programs and children in need. He looked around in amazement. As a former theater kid, he couldn't hide his amusement seeing all the lights and backdrops scattered on the edge of the stage in front of the closed curtain, still waiting to be put up for the school year. 

“Jackie boy!” Race yelled, poking his head out from behind the closed curtain. 

“Hey Racer,” Jack responded as he ran over to him. Race stepped out from behind the curtain to greet him with a hug and Jack tried to stifle a laugh when he saw him in his athletic shorts and high-rise socks. “I love the uniform,” he teased while patting him on the back. 

“Yeah, yeah. So, how’s your first day?” Race asked while running a hand through his hair. He nervously peered at the curtain and then to his watch. 

“Fine, everything alright?” Suddenly they heard a faint groan come from behind the curtain. Startled, Jack tried to step through the opening but Race stepped in front of him. “‘Ey!” Jack tried to push the curtain back again but Race pushed him lightly, keeping him away from the opening. 

“The, uh- bird is uh- not happy with the worm?” Race said, trying to signal to Crutchie. His hands flailed around dramatically gesturing towards the curtain. Crutchie sighed in response and shook his head, holding the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I tried to make her calm down but she's being kinda…” Race trailed off, looking to Crutchie for help with an explanation. Jack looked between the men and the curtain, shooting confused glances between Crutchie and Race. Race pursed his lips, trying to decide what to say to Jack. “Uh, so, Jack, when we heard you got the job, we, uh…”

“We didn't tell Kathy!” Crutchie blurted out. Jack’s face turned red. His eyes widened with panic and he quickly backed up from the curtain. “So, I guess she heard us and, uh, surprise!” Crutchie gave the panicked Jack a nervous smile. 

“So, lemme get this right,” Jack whispered, taking cautious steps back from the curtain. Race followed him down the steps of the stage into the aisle. “You tell me to come here to see Kathy for the first time in half a year, and she doesn't even know I work with her?” He suddenly realized the absurdity of the situation. This beautiful woman whom he had loved and admired for over a year until he completely betrayed her had just heard his voice for the first time in six months. On top of this he had just developed a crush on his coworker whom he had seen once and would be co-teaching a class with. It seemed like the universe was conspiring against Jack Kelly, although in all fairness, the universe gave Jack that impression a lot. To refrain from yelling, Jack closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nose and emailed through his mouth. He knew there was a specific pattern that you could breathe to prevent anxiety attacks but how long was it again? Four seconds, seven seconds? No, that wasn't it. Well, the only thing you can do is go talk to her, Jack reasoned. 

Jack slowly opened his eyes, blinking tears away that he hadn't noticed before, and saw Race, Crutchie, and Medda looking at him with concern. They knew about his anxiety and Jack’s friends weren't the type of people who took panic attacks lightly. “Hey Ms. Medda,” Jack said with all the enthusiasm he could muster to try to reassure his friends. Medda smiled sympathetically and wrapped him in a warm embrace which he returned graciously. He didn't visit his foster mother nearly as much as he would have liked. She lived across the city and Jack’s crazy student teaching schedule combined with the online art classes that he was still taking didn't allow him a lot of free time.

Jack pulled away from Medda and instead turned to Crutchie. “I’m gonna talk to her. She deserves to know the truth about what happened.”

Crutchie nodded sympathetically. Everyone knew that there was more behind their breakup than Jack just dumping her because he “wasn’t feeling it anymore” but what happened was a secret Jack would never tell. “Are you sure it’s the best idea to do it right now? You've both got classes in less than fifteen minutes.” Crutchie knew that when Jack set his mind to something, however unreasonable, it was almost impossible to convince him to change his mind. That wasn't going to stop him from trying, though. As much as they all loved Katherine they knew she was stubborn, especially when she had a stack of ungraded short-stories and newspaper articles in front of her. If Jack went to talk to her right now she likely wouldn't listen, especially if she didn't know the truth about what happened with the breakup. All anyone knew was that one day Jack and Katherine were completely in love and the next Jack wouldn't leave Crutchie’s couch and he was rambling about moving to Santa Fe again. 

“You all do realize that this curtain isn't soundproof, right?” The four whipped their heads around to see Katherine standing on the edge of the stage, gripping a bean-bag chair in one hand and cradling her laptop and a stack of papers in the other. Her lips were pressed together in a straight line and her eyebrows were raised as if she was staring down on a group of misbehaving students. Medda, feeling unbelievably awkward in the middle of this situation, excused herself and walked quietly back to her office. She gave Crutchie’s shoulder a tight squeeze as she made her way up the aisle to the doors. Katherine just shook her head in response to the haunted expressions on the men's’ faces. Her expression broke into a pained smile and continued to stare down the group of three while walking down the stairs and flinging the bean-bag chair in the corner of the room where it was kept (stage managers use it to watch rehearsals instead of the slightly uncomfortable auditorium chairs.) “You know, I really thought high school teachers wouldn't be as immature as their students. And you,” She turned her attention to Jack. His face was still red and he could hear his exhilarated pulse. She stalked towards the group so she was less than a foot away from Jack. He tried to lean back but he tripped over a chair. He was stuck. From behind Katherine’s shoulder, he saw Race attempting to give him a thumbs-up. Crutchie elbowed him in the side and flashed him a look, ushering him away in order to give Jack and Katherine some space. They walked up to the aisle and up to the stage. Crutchie gave Jack a reassuring smile before he and Race disappeared behind the curtain. 

“You didn’t even have the decency to call me, Jack. How do you think I felt when I came down for lunch and I hear that my ex-boyfriend, who I haven't seen since February, is about to be down here?” Her words turned eerily soft and Jack could see tears welling up in her eyes. “I’m not mad, Jack,” she said, breaking eye contact with him and focussing on the floor. She closed her eyes, willing her tears to stay put. She couldn't cry in front of Jack. “I really, really want to be mad, but I can’t.” 

Jack took her hand in his own. To both of their surprise, she didn't pull away. “I’m so, so sorry Kathy,” he whispered, trying to make his voice as soft as possible. He really did care about her. He hated that she thought he just woke up one day and didn't love her anymore. “I want to tell you everything. Somethin’ happened, Kath. I really loved you.” 

Katherine finally looked up at him with an unreadable expression. Jack pretended not to see the tear streaks across her face. “Can we, uh, get coffee sometime?” she choked before quickly turning around and letting go of Jack’s hand. “I have to get to class, but I miss you, Jack.” She murmured the last part as if she was scared for Jack to hear it. 

“I’d really love that, Kathy. Thank you so much,” Jack said again, attempting in vain to hold back more tears. Katherine looked back at him and almost smiled. 

“We should get to class.” With that she walked away, leaving Jack completely… awestruck would be the best way to describe it. She walked like she was a student, clutching the papers to her chest and keeping her head down. there was no doubt that she’d straighten herself up and radiate her usual confidence as soon as she got to the main floor. Jack watched her walk all the way out the doors before he looked down at his watch. 

“Shit,” he mumbled before wiping his face with his hands and darting towards his classroom.   
***

Jack cursed under his breath as he tried to fit the key into the lock of his classroom door. His entire class had been waiting in the hallway for at least five minutes when he came bolting down the hall. Finally, the door unlocked and Jack audibly sighed, sliding in the classroom and holding the door open for his slightly irritated students. He didn't realize he had been holding his breath until after he released it. Describing his emotions was never Jack Kelly’s strong point, but he really didn’t know what was going on in his head at that moment. He wished he could talk to Crutchie who always knew exactly what to say or Race who would immediately think of something stupid and destructive to do to get his mind off everything. He wanted to do anything other than teach a class at that moment, but unfortunately, it’s illegal to leave a room full of seventeen-year-old art kids unsupervised. 

“Hey, Mr. Kelly,” Les greeted Jack brightly, pulling him out of his own thoughts. Jack looked down at him, slightly puzzled but trying not to show it. He had only met the kid once and he was already greeting him? Not to mention that he hated being called Mr. Kelly. He made a mental note to try to get the kids to call him Jack or something. 

“How’s you doin’, kid?” Jack tried to plaster a nonchalant “I’m a cool teacher” look on his face, but Les just scoffed and went to take a seat at the back of the room. 

Once all the students were seated, Jack stood at the front of the room silently. He examined the sixteen teenagers in the room. They were all looking back at him, waiting for him to make his first move. 

“Alright,” Jack started. A confident grin spread across his face and he finally felt somewhat normal. Everything that had happened was still overwhelming but art always calmed him down. It always had. “We’re gonna start with the basics. So, I’m Jack Kelly, but you can call me-” He was cut off when a hand in the back of the room bolted up. “And you are?” Jack asked, slightly startled. 

“Smalls. It’s not important. We should call him cowboy, I mean, look at all the horse pictures.” Small’s gestured towards Jack’s desk where there were quite a few paintings that he had done of Santa Fe, including horse pictures. He felt blush crawl across his cheeks as the entire class started chanting “Cowboy!” in response.

“Alright, alright!” He took a step towards the class, trying to hide his grin and look intimidating. “There will be no callin’ me ‘Cowboy,’” he said using air quotes, suggesting that it was the dumbest nickname in the world. The empty desk that he had pulled to the front of the room creaked under his weight as he sat on it. “You don’t have to call me Mr. Kelly, but for the love of God, not Cowboy.”

There was a collective “aww” from the class, but everyone in the room was trying to contain their laughter. Jack broke his fake-serious face and shook his head at the students, stifling a laugh. He could tell this was gonna be a good class.   
***

The rest of fifth period went smoothly. The kids seemed to really like the class which made Jack ecstatic. He really wanted to buy them art supplies that weren’t old and broken, so there he was, searching through Amazon on his computer and trying to finish his flat Dr. Pepper from lunch. He had sixth period planning and he knew he should be trying to figure out what he was going to do with his AP Art History kids but he only had half of the say in anything taught in that class. Not worrying about the class seemed like the perfect plan as scrolled passed three hundred dollar colored pencils. Being an art teacher as well as an art student, the price of art supplies should have been obvious to him, but he had grossly underestimated the price range. Switching over to E-Bay to see if he could find some decent used art supplied Jack almost didn't notice Davey Jacobs standing at the door frame, questioning to himself whether he should walk in the room unannounced. Almost. 

“Hey! Uh, are you busy? Cause I thought we could talk about next period?” Davey asked, still standing at the door. Jack couldn't help but notice that his cheeks looked slightly redder than before, but that was probably nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so so much for reading! Comments and kudos mean the world to me so don't be shy! Also, you might have noticed I'm using song lyrics for chapter titles :) I made a playlist of all the songs I'm taking the lyrics from and I'll update the playlist while I'm updating the story so feel free to check that out:) 
> 
> https://open.spotify.com/user/audreydalekshed/playlist/0wY60VKPT7jYEmzOsoxPAU?si=Y7uqyu8CQPev0HlIHORlkA

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I hope you liked it! Please please please leave comments and let me know how it was! Also, my Tumblr is @skiesof-hope so come say hi on there! Thank you so much for reading and I'm hoping to get the next chapter out soon. :)


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